Take a trip with your skillet to your stovetop for some global, Thai-inspired soup. The only ingredients requiring prep are the onions and garlic - some fast chopping. Other than that, this savory fruit soup - that's right, pumpkin is a fruit - needs only dumping from cans, jars and containers. My kind of soup-making.
But how's this for an added perk? Filled with immune-boosting ingredients to keep you healthy and hopefully keep colds and flu at bay. Lentils offer lean protein for muscle ...

A big bowl of immune-boosting nutrients to help fight flu, but keep you overall healthy, too. That's what my Beef Barley Vegetable Soup is.
Before I blather on with all the health benefits, let me say this is EASY to make. And it makes a BIG BATCH - perfect for big eaters or big families. About 18-20 cups, so that would be 9 to 10 servings of 2 cups each. And it'll last a couple days (leftovers = no cooking!).
Now, those health-boosting benefits: lean beef (zinc and protein for muscle ...

Three cheers for tomato soup that's fast, easy and filled with all the right nutrients to keep you healthy and happy. Except for chopping the onion and garlic, you simply open and dump canned and jarred ingredients. Technically, you could use already chopped fresh or frozen onion and ready-to-use chopped garlic to save even more time.
Tomatoes, red pepper, garlic and onions give you tremendous immune-boosting, disease-fighting nutrients. Good for healthy blood pressure and heart health, ...

Sigh. Big sigh.
Today is National Shortbread Day. I felt like sharing my favorite shortbread recipe - my Bipartisan Shortbread Bars. So I searched for my old blog post from days long ago.
Found it! Read it. Sighed. Then sighed again. With sadness. And wistfulness.
I’m definitely not one for wishing that things would be “the way they used to be,” but geez…. 2017? And now already in 2018? It just keeps getting worse.
I’m going back to calling them Obama Bars. But if you don't like ...

Perfect party food for me means easy to make and easy to serve. And of course, filled with healthy nutrients for my guests as well.
Oven-roasting mixed nuts is so easy. Just toss a bunch of sweet, hot, and smokey spices together in a bowl, then stir into your favorite nuts. Add a couple tablespoons of oil so the spices will stick to the nuts.
Oven-roast. Watch closely and stir a couple times so they don't burn.
Cool. Enjoy. These freeze well. Store in tightly covered container or ...

Halloween Party with Pizza-Inspired Foods for the Entire Family
Notice I said "pizza-inspired" party, not just "pizza" party. That's because instead of just a bunch of traditional round pizzas, I thought it would be fun to throw together a main dish, side dish and dessert that all "resemble" pizza in one way or another.
So my Pizza-Style Sloppy Joe's are like Pepperoni Cheese Pizza, but in a quick, stove-top skillet sloppy joe recipe. Italian seasoning, onion, garlic, ground beef and plenty ...

Game Strategy: create a big batch chili to wow guests at your next Tailgate Party.
Defensive Move: cut kitchen prep time by giving those lean pork cubes a quick skillet sizzle, then letting the Colts Crock Pot do the rest of the work.
Offensive Play: use ingredients with both great taste AND good nutrition, like lean pork loin, onions and hominy (corn), so you’re guests stay healthy and happy.
Avoid Fumbles: serve this chili with plenty of nutrient-rich toppings like crushed corn ...

Serve these easy, do-it-yourself pork sausage patties for breakfast, dinner or at your next brunch. The basic seasonings in these skillet sausages mimics the flavor of traditional patties, but you can customize them with any favorite blend of spices, herbs and seasonings. Maybe you’d like them with all Italian-style seasonings. Or Cajun, Moroccan or Latino with chili peppers, cumin and lime zest. Or smoky with chipotle chili pepper or smoked paprika. You can even add a little finely chopped ...